Do Tell: Weigh In on Mandatory Spay/Neuter Laws

Even if your furry friend is fixed, how do you feel about being told to do so not just by vets or animal behaviorists but by the government!? Last week, a statewide mandatory spay/neuter bill (SB 250) passed the California State Senate and is off to the Assembly to quite possibly become law.
In order to keep an unsterilized pet, you'd need a license or else your animal could be taken away from you. Now, I understand the needless death and overpopulation of shelter animals, but this seems a bit troublesome for lower-income families who would sterilize a pet, if not for the prohibitive procedure price. Do you think this bill is a good start . . . or does it do more harm than good?

Not only do I agree with the law because it makes good sense for keeping pet populations down, it makes good health sense for the pet. I can't remember the statistics, but for every time your female pet is allowed to "go into heat" it greatly increases her chances of getting cancer of the reproductive organs. And it makes good medical sense from males animals as well. I had a male Chihuahua when I was younger (i.e. a minor living at home) and my mom did not neuter him right away for financial reasons. He ended up running away quite often. Neutering a male decreases that urge to run in a big way. And don't forget how much more male cats "spray" if they are not neutered. The costs of spaying and neutering far outweigh the costs of NOT doing it.
And one other thing I'd like to add, specifically about California. Most people probably know that our state is on the verge of bankruptcy and painful cuts are being made all over. One of the proposed cuts is to animal control. Right now, animals are destroyed after 6 days in a shelter. New rules make that 3 days. If everyone spays or neuters their dogs we can cut down on animals being destroyed.
And to address what someone previously said about running out of dogs... no way. We will never run out of animals. People who breed dogs can still keep doing so. And a tax on them might possibly even help cut down on the occurrence of puppy mills. Responsible breeders do not breed to turn a profit. Responsible breeders breed pets because they have a love of that particular breed, or a love of breeding in general.

5 years

First of all.... it is well known that vets don't make as much as we think they do. If you are paying $400 for a spay your vet is 100% overcharging. I go to one of the best vets in Los Angeles. He has done free house calls and the funny thing is alot of people think hes expensive. I payed $150 for my dachshund and for my lab. My friend works for another vet who pushes through as many spay neuter jobs as possible because he charges what you have payed and its insane the mark up. He said so. But if you shop there are a lot of services out there who gladly offer safe, healthy, spay and neuter for like 30-50 and if you cant afford that you also probably cant afford the vaccines they have to get once a year or so either. So no, they shouldn't have pets if they cant afford that.
I think this law is insanely important. My friends husband wont neuter their pit because its "unmanly" and if he had, she wouldn't have had quite the jealousy factor that occurred when her baby was born. I can't even begin to count the numbers of people(men especially) who feel this way that I have encountered over my years of volunteering. Its also naive to think that the species would die out. My god Labs, Poodles, and more are experiencing the effects of inbreeding due to overpopulation and breeding. Here in LA we have such a big problem with overpopulation that this law is only a good thing.
Please go down into the heart of Mexico or the slums of TJ and you will see what the lack of laws has done. I understand that many there can't afford to care for their animals and a lot end up going wild, but then they breed and also spread disease. When I've been on research trips its left an impression every time.
Bottom line if you want to breed your pet, you still can. You just pay more for that right which is fine by me. Maybe it will also be a way to keep the less qualified from breeding

MANY shelters have lost cost spay/ neuter options.
For example, pit bulls in Baltimore City can be spayed/ nuetered at our shelter for under $30. The shelter where I volunteer/ foster has special programs for inexpensive spay/ neuter surgeries.
Also -- if you adopt a pet FROM a shelter, she/ he is already probably snipped !
I am in favor of this.

If you cannot afford to have your pet spayed or neutered, how exactly do you expect to pay for food and vet bills... routine vaccinations, and monthly preventative medications like heartguard and advantix?
If you cannot afford a one time bill for spaying/neutering then you cannot afford to have a pet. This law should have been passed a long time ago.

I'm totally for it. I hate people that refuse their animals proper care, especially if their excuse is financial... if you can't afford pets, you don't deserve them and they don't deserve your neglect.
I wish they'd make a law to enforce mandatory birth control for welfare recipients, too. This problem is not exclusive to animals.

Spaying and neutering is affordable. I paid $40 to get my cat spayed at the local spay and neuter clinic here. I completely agree that if you can't afford to have your pet fixed, then you probably don't need one anyway.
We have way too many shelters in America that are filled to capacity with pets waiting for adoption. A lot of these pets have been abandoned by owners who thought they were ready for a pet. Approximately 6-8 million animals are in shelters across the US (throughout the year) and about 3-4 million of those get euthanized each year.
So I really don't think a law requiring the spay or neuter of your pet is a bad thing.

With the overwhelming number of pets in shelters I totally agree with this law. Like the other poster said, if you can't afford to spay/neuter you probably can't afford proper care. Having a pet is a serious choice and I think people need to realize that.

I don't think it should be a law to spay/neuter your pets. I think if people decide to own pets, than they should be a responsible pet owners and spay/neuter them. If you really love your pets, you should get them fixed because they are healthier and live longer. My dogs are like my babies and I would pay anything for them to be healthy and happy.

I disagree about saying that if you can't afford a spay and nueter you can't afford a pet. My vet charges around $400 for a spay. That's for everything, the pain meds, the checkup blah blah blah, I've heard REALLY bad stories about the shelter here that charges $65 for spaying. I mean really there has to be SOME difference between the quality of care of a $65 procedure vs $400. Regardless, I feed my dogs the best food and they get the best care. But I'm sorry most people like me don't just have $400 lying around. To me this just seems like it'll be hurting the responsible people more than the ones that are causing problems. How will they know if your dog is fixed? It's the unregistered, un licensed mutts that people let roam the neighborhood that are a big part of the problem. So I guess I'm just curious how well this would be enforced and how much it would cost the state/county/city to enforce these laws. I feel like the time, effort and money spent on this should be put into better spaying/neutering options for people.

I'm going to have to agree with Allium & Nitachequtia. My first thought was that if you can't afford to spay or neuter, you can't afford the pet. Heck, most rescues and shelters do that before adopting out, just adopt from them and problem solved.
I do agree with what ladyr said in her second paragraph though. They already have trouble with space in shelters, where are they going to put all the seized animals? I say fine, and give them a chance to comply with the law. Maybe donate part of the fines to cover low cost spay/neuter clinics.

I have to agree with Allium on this one. If someone can't afford to spay/neuter their pet, then they probably can't afford to take proper care of their pet.

5 years

This is hard. I believe 100% that people should spay and neuter their pets. I don't think we will ever reach a state where dogs become an endangered species, their will simply be fewer pets living on the street or in abusive homes. If pets become more of a luxury that can only be obtained from high class breeders, there will be less animals suffering at the hands of cruel people. But if the government is serious about this, they should pay for the families with less money. Part of me wonders, though, if a person can't afford to get their pet fixed, can they really afford to take care of it properly by giving it food, bedding, toys, etc.

I'm still a little unsure how I feel about this. I think that it IS a good idea to require people who are breeding their animals and selling the offspring to have a license/permit. And it is NOT expensive to have your pet sterilized, if you have it done at the humane society. I'm sure that some people who live far from these services would have a tough time time finding an affordable alternative nearby though.
If this does become law, I do NOT think that the punishment should be that they take your pet away. If you don't have a license/permit and your dog is not sterilized, they should maybe make you pay a fine and give you a certain amount of time to have the procedure done or to apply for a license/permit to keep them intact. They should give people a chance to comply before taking their pet, or else they are going to end up seizing a lot of animals from loving homes, which would be awful.

I agree with Zivanod.
Besides the fact that if we all make it mandatory, don't you think soon, there will be no more dogs?! I think ppl need to be responsible, I spay all my animals... but this is a bit harsh, imo.